An interview with the civil pioneers... early days of flying over the Outback with Capt Lester Brain

Captain Brain was one of Qantas’ first pilots, taking the airline from converted World War I bombers to Catalinas in World War II. In the interview, Brain explains what life was like in the early days flying over the Outback, including the early days of the flying doctor service and searching for crashed aircraft. He looks at the impact of the brave adventurers such as Alan Cobham and Bert Hinkler and the real pioneers, the men and women who made civil aviation sustainable in Australia. He also looks at some of the aircraft he introduced into service, such as the de Havilland DH.86 Express and the Catalina Flying Boats, the latter of which entered service during the Second World War. Capt. Lester Brain was interviewed by David Jones in around 1975. This recording is part a AeroSociety Podcast series, Development of Civil Aviation from the UK to Australasia, it was digitised thanks to a grant from the RAeS Foundation and the podcast was edited by Eur Ing Mike Stanberry FRAeS.